


'til you're safe inside

by sky_blue_hightops



Series: Sun and Moon AU [26]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Moon Powers Varian (Disney), POV Animal, Protective Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider, Protective Ruddiger (Disney), Team Awesome (Disney: Tangled), Varian Needs a Hug (Disney), sun and moon au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:14:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26075491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sky_blue_hightops/pseuds/sky_blue_hightops
Summary: One of his boys - the bigger one, with the deep, rumbly voice that had lulled Ruddiger to sleep so many times, with the warm paws that he loved to nose his way under, with dark eyes bright in the cover of the trees - knelt before him. There was meaning in the low tone of his voice, a mixture of concern and nervousness that belied the calm line of his back, and Ruddiger chirped a reply. He hoped it sounded soothing in their tongue. But his boy only sighed, running a soft touch down Ruddiger’s spine, and rose to his full height.
Relationships: Cassandra & Ruddiger (Disney), Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Ruddiger, Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Ruddiger & Varian, Rapunzel & Ruddiger (Disney), Ruddiger & Varian (Disney)
Series: Sun and Moon AU [26]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1823434
Comments: 11
Kudos: 91





	'til you're safe inside

**Author's Note:**

> this one picks up the morning after eugene, raps, and cass spend the night in the boys' camp and runs straight through the events of the next few fics! just for reference. also trying to write ruddiger was a trip at first but i really love sensory based descriptions and raccoons Smell TM so it all worked out in the end. probably
> 
> anyways he deserved a fic of his own!!! so tada

One of his boys - the bigger one, with the deep, rumbly voice that had lulled Ruddiger to sleep so many times, with the warm paws that he loved to nose his way under, with dark eyes bright in the cover of the trees - knelt before him. There was meaning in the low tone of his voice, a mixture of concern and nervousness that belied the calm line of his back, and Ruddiger chirped a reply. He hoped it sounded soothing in their tongue. But his boy only sighed, running a soft touch down Ruddiger’s spine, and rose to his full height.

The raccoon scampered after him, the dirt under his paws warm from the early morning sunshine, but was merely nudged aside by a foot. He chattered loudly, offended. Why was he being ignored? Where were they going, his boy and these strange young ones? Why couldn’t Ruddiger follow? They disappeared into the bushes edging the clearing, and he screeched after them to no avail.

They didn’t return even as the sun crept higher in the sky. Ruddiger huffed a breath, curling up in the blankets his other boy’d slept in several nights ago. His absence hurt. He still hadn’t found his way back since Ruddiger had stayed with the older boy that night, refusing to leave - it had been such a hard decision, but one could defend himself and the other couldn’t. One had left. The other had lain still.

He’d never had to choose between them before. He’d never had to cower in fear because of one of them before. He’d never seen them separated before, not since he’d joined them as a kit.

And now - he curled tighter, nosing at the fabric. The younger smelled...sharper, crisp like apples, volatile like his strange, loud rituals. Ruddiger didn’t _understand_ what he spent so much time doing, only that it often smelt of ash and could be dangerous at unexpected times. But it was _him_ , and it made him smell the way he did, and Ruddiger wouldn’t trade any part of his boy for the world.

He pulled at the blanket, before wiggling his way over to the older’s heap. The taller boy’s scent was so much softer; warm like the fires he sparked, rich like the meat he hunted and cooked, a little sweet like flower petals and a little thin like the deadly edge he wielded for protection. Neither smelled similar to the other when apart, but together they were indistinguishable. Together it was one scent of safety, of home and family, of gentle gestures and bright words, exasperation and adventure.

It was quick work, making a nest from the blankets of both boys. Ruddiger drew them tightly around, tucking his face between the folds and keeping his ears pricked in case the younger returned. He’d keep watch like the older did so often. He’d wait until they came home, back to him. They always had.

* * *

Night fell. Neither returned. Ruddiger dozed.

A cracking, horrible sound jolted him to full awareness. Across the clearing, a shape rose up from the dirt, growing, gleaming. Ruddiger’s fur bristled, the hairs along his back and neck standing on end, but nothing else shifted.

Then a black rock split the younger’s flat boulder in two, and Ruddiger yowled with alarm. The blankets fell away as he leapt over, sniffing cautiously. He could not stay here. These rocks smelt sharp, crisp, volatile. These rocks were so familiar and yet so foreign at the same time.

Another sprouted beyond the treeline. Several others rose in rapid succession. They picked a trail out between the bushes, pointing. Leading him. The dirt under his paws reverberated with their movement, unsettling him, but he only clawed loose a few chunks of soil and lashed his tail before making up his mind.

With one last series of anxious chitters, he dove into the undergrowth and let the strange rocks take him to where he needed to be.

* * *

He could tell when he drew closer. The rocks loomed quicker, rose higher. They blocked out the trees’ canopy, casting the ground in cold relief. Ruddiger tried his best to not cower from them - they did not want to hurt. They only wanted him near. They only wanted to draw him further.

He didn’t know how he understood this. It was just so clear, the impressions from the gentle whisper of the points against the dirt, from their scattered and staggered positioning along his path. There were just some patterns to nature only animals would be able to interpret, and the magic that resounded through each rock was a type of power Ruddiger had spent years curled up next to, a power Ruddiger had patted gently, chirped stories from his youth to when neither of them could wind down for the night, a power that had held him close, rubbed his ears and untangled the knots from his fur and whispered love against the top of his head. A power that smelled strongly of sharpness, apples, ash. Grief. Fear. Anger.

Ruddiger was so focused on following the rocks ahead of him, he didn’t notice the few that sprouted behind him.

He only realized there _were_ any rising up at his flank when he blinked up at the sky, stunned, pained. A smaller rock had emerged to graze his leg, tripping his forward movement and sending him sprawling, and it _ached_. A few drops of warm rust brown splattered the ground below his paw. He licked the wound, shaking the limb out and stumbling to stand upright.

He’d be fine, but he faltered. Was he supposed to follow? Did his younger boy want him closer, or was this a warning? Was his presence a hunt he’d been too blind with worry to see?

The smell of loneliness reeked too strong to ignore. No. He had faith - he trusted his boy. It didn’t matter what either of them thought, deep down. At the core, his boy would not hurt him willingly. At the core, Ruddiger _knew_ he had to be there. This was a decision he wouldn’t back down from, not once more.

So he took a deep breath, testing his leg and turning to limp down the path of rocks before him.

* * *

It was those two strange children from before who found him. He’d lost his way despite his best efforts - his eyes worked best in the twilight, but not even sharp vision could delay the effects of the dull brown that dripped steadily down his leg. The rocks had dwindled slowly over the hours until they’d stopped altogether, and from there Ruddiger had been left to wander, increasingly exhausted.

He didn’t know where either of his boys were, let alone himself, and it was the first time he had truly been _scared_ for all of them in a very long time.

But the younger one was so gentle when she cradled him, her voice shining just like her hair, and then his leg was whole once more. Her tired eyes spoke nothing but innocent concern, perhaps some curiosity, and he decided this little one was something worth trusting. The curve of her neck was warm. She smelt of sunshine, of the dirt under their feet, the bubble and laugh of river water over stones. He cuddled closer, sheltering in the shield of her hair, and breathed in the sharpness and crispness that hid deep below her smoothness.

Yes, he could stay with them for a while. He could rest. He had a feeling they’d find their way to his boy soon enough.

* * *

He’d watched his boys fight from the fringes before. They moved together like a beaver’s dam breaking, like the crash of thunder in the treetops. They moved easily, back to back, and he was accustomed to the quick shift from being draped across a neck before being hoisted up and placed on a nearby rock, out of the way.

Safe to say that being _in_ the fight, even indirectly, was a new experience. He gripped the older girl’s neck desperately - Ruddiger hadn’t even had any warning; they’d just burst into the clearing with raised hands and sharp edges, fire in their eyes and at their heels, and he could do nothing but cling tightly. The men they fought reeked of sour herbs, dead pelts, decay. He recoiled and hid in the cropped hair of his girl (sweet like tree sap, pocked and gritty like worn stone), only daring to peek out at the fight every few moments.

The girls fought together smoothly, yes, in sync like his boys but differently. They whirled like winds on the plains, cutting and licking through the air like frozen rain and forest fires, and he was very glad these girls had found his boys and him and taken to them. In this clearing - he could breathe deep and take in all four scents at once. They fit strangely at first, before he took another breath. Then it was just so _clear_.

Sharp, soft. Smooth, rough. All four together - fuller than apart. It was needed. It was _everything_.

And then the fight died down, the rotten men tied up, the girls disengaging and putting away their edges, and then his boys were finally in front of him. The next few events blurred together - Ruddiger wove his way down to a spot in the elder girl’s arms, watching nervously as the younger girl’s hair refused to shine, as her hands stained with that dull, dull red. He watched the fear in his boy’s eyes and wanted so badly to go to him, but couldn’t find it in himself to move.

Then light reached up, up, out into the air around them. Then his boy - warm, soft, almost gone - _breathed_.

He chittered, and the girl’s hands flinched around him like she’d forgotten his presence and hadn’t realized she’d been petting his fur for comfort. He allowed himself a few seconds to hum and nose at her hands, hoping to reassure her, before taking a flying leap towards the ground. He had his family back; there was no time to waste!

First he scampered into the taller boy’s lap, wiggling to nudge his nose against the boy’s cheek - how could he be so foolish as to push Ruddiger away, even when Ruddiger had followed him to make sure he was okay, how could he leave Ruddiger behind - but all was forgiven, because how could he even consider not forgiving when it came to these two?

Then his youngest. His worry for the past few days. When he finally squirmed into the boy’s arms, they tightened so gingerly around him. He screeched playfully - yes, Ruddiger was here with him, yes neither of them would leave, yes _thank you_ of course he missed the head scritches. The younger girl gestured to his leg, the one he’d injured, and a look of pain flashed so harshly across his boy’s face. Ruddiger hummed softly and patted at the furrowed brows, hoping to smooth out the worry, but only succeeded when his boy gathered him into an embrace and exhaled a shuddering breath against his fur.

That was okay. They’d take all the time they needed to heal. The only thing that mattered was them around him, warm and alive, and Ruddiger purred for the first time since that awful night.


End file.
